Athletes We Hate

Hate is a strong word. It’s used a lot in sports, maybe too much. But get used to it, because that’s what this post is about. It is important to note that there is a big difference between sports hate and regular hate. Regular hate is not cool, unless it’s that kid in school who thinks he is a tough guy but really isn’t—you can hate him all you want. But that’s one of the few exceptions. Sports hate is different. It can be one tiny thing about the athlete that makes you hate him or her. So here is our list.

Rajon Rondo: He can ball. Don’t get us wrong. But he threw Kirk Hinrich into the scorer’s table which wasn’t a cheap shot. And he must have gone to the Carmelo Anthony School of fighting, because when Hinrich came after him to retaliate, Rondo just kept backing up. If you want to fight (PBSB are lovers not fighters) then do it, but don’t cheap shot somebody then wuss out when they come back at you. Also he used to wear his headband upside down—how annoying is that. We hate it when people try to make it seem like they don’t care, but are trying really hard. “What’s that, the logo is upside down on my headband…whatever I don’t care.” Yes you do Rajon, we know you do. Plus, the dude cannot shoot a jumper.

The Williams Sister: Serena and Venus Williams are the only hopes for Americans when it comes to winning majors, but we here at PBSB can’t root for them. Their shrieks and screams are just too much for us to handle. They aren’t the only females who scream too much when they’re playing tennis, but at least Maria Sharapova is somewhat attractive. Add to the screaming that the sisters are rude and it isn’t a combination PBSB can stand behind. Their outfits are also absurd. Serena also has a temper problem. Like a very serious temper problem.

Tom Brady: This one is more of jealousy-hatred than anything else. He’s too perfect. No one should be as talented and lucky as he is.

Super Bowl rings, money, Giselle Bundchen—you name it there is a good chance Tom Brady slept with it. He does have some bad hair though, so eat that, Tom. What!? Giselle likes his hair like that. Alright, well we have nothing against this guy then, but we still don’t like him. Our ACLs have never been torn, so take that, Tom.

Mark Schlereth: You probably know Mark from his ESPN work covering the NFL. But he wants you to know him as the guy who had thousands of surgeries. If I have to hear Schlereth complain about how many surgeries he had one more time, I will go to Bristol and break his leg so he has to get another one (it’s about the two minute mark when Mark talks about himself…and the four minute mark). You played football, Mark; it’s a contact sport, so get over yourself. Maybe you should’ve done ballet if you didn’t want to get injured…but then your toes might hurt. He also tried to be an actor on a soap opera…two strikes, sir.

Old Brett Favre: We love young Favre, but flash forward to 2005ish and on. Brett Favre is now the grizzled veteran. He’s the gunslinger. He’s mulling retirement. He’s retired. He’s making a comeback. He was inching towards breaking just about every passing record, including INTs. Offseason drama with Green Bay was the norm and Favre seemed closer to retirement than ever after the 2007 season. Favre retired but made a comeback and had himself cleverly traded to the Jets after requesting his release from the Packers, which then allowed him to go to the Vikings. The move to Minnesota could’ve been a brilliant dig at new Packers GM Ted Thompson if Favre wouldn’t have thrown one last deciding INT in the NFC Championship game. His name was in the news for all the wrong reasons after his sex scandal while with the Jets and he has now resurfaced, seeking attention by giving his opinion on his successful successor Aaron Rodgers. Favre went from a painstakingly consistent player to a man that seemed to be just like every other selfish, wayward athlete.

Paul Pierce: How does he do it? He’s not the biggest guy on the court and not nearly the fastest. Paul Pierce has been getting it done in the league 13 years now. Although he’s one of the worst floppers in the game and has been accused of faking an injury, Pierce has had an impressive career, all the more reason for us at PBSB to hate him. He’s an NBA champion and Finals MVP, albeit only after BOS signed KG and Ray Allen, but anyway he’s only one of three Celtics (Larry Bird and John Havlicek) to score 20,000 points with BOS alone, has a mean 3 pt shot and is a 9 time All Star. But he cannot grow facial hair.

LeBron James: Now don’t just go putting PBSB on the side of “LeBron Haters.” If you’re not a diehard LeBron fan, it’s easy to hate him. How can you not? The man is 6’8 250 and can play virtually any position on the court. He’s still young and is now on a team that looks like they can help him earn his first, well deserved ring. It’s not his play on the court that makes us hate LBJ; he’s a clean player and his game speaks for itself. A perennial All Star, the #1 jersey seller and he’s endorsement laden; LeBron is very hateable. Things like “the Decision” and the constant comparisons to Jordan are what make us hate LBJ. There will never be another Jordan and LeBron needs to be put in his own category that includes other new age multipurpose freaks like Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge and Josh Smith.

Rodney Harrison: He could be considered one of the dirtiest players in NFL history. A study done in 2008 showed he was ranked 2nd since 2001 with 14 personal fouls. He was also a part of the Patriot teams that were caught during Spy Gate, which also doesn’t help his cause. Somehow now he’s an NFL analyst for NBC, which is a whole other topic pbsb has beef; the selection of former athletes that get hired as analysts and commentators. Harrison did however score points for his owning of Athletes We Hate Semi-Finalist Freddie “FredEx” Mitchell in the 2004 Super Bowl.

Alex Rodriguez: A-Rod is just a crappy person. We here at PBSB don’t understand how he gets girls. Either he isn’t how he seems or some women like money. It’s probably the money thing, isn’t it? Most importantly, A-Rod cheated. He took steroids and we don’t like that at all. Speaking of cheating jerks…

Barry Bonds* and other roiders: These guys cheated, plain and simple. Traditional training wasn’t enough, so these guys (Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmero, Jason Giambi, Jose Canseco and the list goes on) broke the rules by taking performance-enhancing drugs. We stuck to just baseball here, but let it be known all sport’s roiders are included. They’ve taken the joy away from the game. Now we question every single feat by an athlete. A guy jumps from 15 to 40 home runs…steroids. Someone works out all off-season and improves…has to be roids. The innocence is gone from baseball and every sport to a degree, and sadly it may never return.

For part one of this segment, Athlete We Love, continue reading below.